MAIZE. 151 



a quarter and which weighed 40 Ib. a bushel, he would 

 be paying 253. for a quarter and one-eighth of the 2Os. 

 oats, the quarter and one-eighth of which would be worth only 

 i 2s. 6d. The inconvenience of measuring each bushel of 

 oats, and the manner in which the result is affected by the 

 method of filling, have caused in many places the adoption of 

 the plan of selling oats by weight (at so many pounds a 

 quarter), after agreement as to their value. I am of course 

 here considering the market value and not the feeding value of 

 light and heavy oats respectively. 



The ordinary method for finding the weight per bushel of 

 a sample of oats is to fill a bushel measure with the oats, 

 remove the oats that are above the top of the measure by 

 means of a flat board or other convenient appliance, and weigh 

 the oats contained in the measure. As the quantity of oats 

 that can be got into a measure will vary a good deal 

 according to the manner in which the measure has been filled ; 

 it is necessary that a uniform procedure be adopted in this 

 process. The rule is that the filling should be done in an 

 ordinary manner, and with as little tendency as possible to 

 make the oats weigh heavy. If the oats are in a heap, we may 

 push the mouth of the measure into the oats, turn the measure 

 over, and skim off the superfluous oats from the top without 

 shaking the measure, striking it, or pressing the oats down. 

 Or we may gently pour out the oats into the measure from a 

 sack, the mouth of which should be kept fully opened out 

 while this is being done. 



MAIZE. 



During late years, maize has steadily increased in favour 

 among English and Continental owners as a food for horses, in 

 which respect it certainly comes next to oats as regards value. 

 Formerly it was held in low repute in Europe, and the results 

 of experiments conducted on a large scale in France and 



